Means for facilitating hermetic sealing of tins or other receptacles.



Patented Oct. I6, |900.

IND. lLUSI.

J. R. CRUFT. MEANS FUE FACILITATING HEBMETIC SEALING 0F TINS 0H IITHEB HECEPTACLE'S.

(Application Bled Aug. 6, 1900.)

(No Modaal.)

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JOHN R. OROFT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MEANS FOR FACILITATING HERMETIC SEALING OF TINS 0R OTHER RECEPTACLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,051, dated. October 16, 1900.

Application filed August 6, 1900. berial No. 26,010. (No model.)

Be it known that I, JOHN RADCLIFFE CROFT, merchant, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 20 Mark Lane, in

'the city of London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Means for Facilitating the Hermetic Sealing of Tins or other Receptacles Containing Alimentary or other Products, of which the following is a specication. p

My invention relates to tins or other vessels for the preservation of alimentary or other products, and has for its object to provide a simple and eliicient means of sealing the tin or vessel, the invention being applicable for sealing tins or other receptacles for alimentary or other substances which are to be preserved without cooking by the extraction of the contained air and its replacement by an inert gas or by melted fat, the invention being also applicable in preserving alimentary substances by expelling the contained air by boiling the contents in their own juices or in water.

The invention consists, essentially, of a means whereby a preliminary or interim sealing may be rapidly effected at the proper moment and in the combination therewith of a means of final sealing whereby the hermetic closure is rendered permanent.

The means of preliminary closure comprise a bush or bung seated in the top or cover of the vessel and having a straight through-passage anda branch passage leading obliquely into the throughpassage from the outside and a wooden plug fitted in the through-passage and adapted when driven in to close both the through and the branch passage.

It further comprises the combination, with the interim or preliminary seal, of a final seal to be applied after the plug has been driven in, as hereinafter described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein l have illustrated the invention on a magniiied scale.

Figure l shows a central vertical section of the bush as applied to the cover of a tin, the branch passage being open. Fig. 2 shows the same with the plug driven in to close the passage and the final seal applied. Fig. 3 shows the bush as applied to the cork stopper of a wide-mouthed bottle or jar.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, a is the bush or bung, preferably of wood and of slightly-conical form, tightly fitted in correspondinglyshaped seat b, formed of a fianged tube soldered at 1) into an aperture in the top or cover c of the tin or vessel, the tube being preferably conical and seamless. d is a throughpassage, and e a branch passage leading obliquely into the passage d. fis the plug, fitting in passage CZ and adapted to be driven so far into the passage CZ as to close the inner end of branch passage e at its point of junction with the through-passage d, so that the thoroughfare is entirely closed, as shown in Fig. 2. ln order to insure a tight closure, the bush after being driven into its seat should be well boiled in water, (or in oil or paraffinwax when inert gas is to be used,) so as to swell the bush and expel any contained air from the wood. The bush may, however, be made of other material, and when fitted to a metal cover, such as o, it might be made of metal and be soldered to the cover c.

In' Fig. 3, c is the cork bung, (closing a wide-mouthed bottle or jar,) in which a hole is punched to form a seat, into which a bush Ais driven tightly. In this case the bushA is provided with two through-passages d d' and two branch passages e e', leading into d d', respectively, and with two plugs f, adapted to be driven in by the same blow for closing the injection and escape orifices simultaneously. In this case also the cork and bush should be boiled before use to expel contained air and insure a tight it.

The preliminary sealing having been effected by driving in the plug f, as above described, al'fords a hermetic closure until the final sealing, which may be performed at leisure and by which the hermetic closure is rendered permanent. The final sealing is effected by applying a covering-layer of impermeable material, such as paraffin-waxr or (in the case of a tin) melted solder, which is run into a recess left for its reception by slightly conntersinkin g the bush into its seat, as in Fig. l. In Fig. 2, gis the layer of waX or solder, which adheres to the sides of the seat l) (a `linx being used in the case of solder) ICO and closely covers the bush and plug, so as to effectually exclude air therefrom. When paraffin-Wax is used, it may be protected by a covering-disk h, soldered by its edges h to the cover c of the tin.

In the case of a bottle or jar parafn-Wax would be used to cover the bush and also the cork, which Would be slightly countersunk in the mouth of the bottle or jar to receive the Wax, as shown in Fig. 3.

In preserving by means of inert gas the tin Fig. l, the one in the top and the other in the bottom, or with a bush having double passages and plugs, as in Fig. 3, this form of bush being necessarily used in the case ofv a bottle or jar. Thev receptacle having beenr filled with the goods to be preserved and closed, With the exception of the branch passages e, it is placed in a chamber, which is first exhausted of air andA then filled with an inert gas, by which the a-ir extracted from the tissues of the contents and: from the receptacle is replaced. The nozzle of a gas-supply pipe is then fitted into the one branch passage e and gas is forced through the can to displace any air that may' have reen-tered, and While the gas is still passing bothI the plugsf are driven in simultaneously, thus closing both passages e and; effectua-llypreventing the escape of gasor the entryof air. In preserving by means of fat abush- With dou'ble passages and plugs, as in Fig. 3,Would be used. The air would be extracted from the tissues as before, and then the airwhich renters the receptacle on removal fromY the vacuum-chamber would be displacedA by liquid (animal orvegetable) fat forced in through the one passageaboth plugsbeing then closed as before.

In preserving food by boiling the contents in its own juices or in Water to expel the air by the steam generated the bus-h- With a sini gle. straight and. branch passage and a plug7 as shown in Fig. l, Would be used, the plug being driven in after the air has all been eX- pelled, but While there is still sufficient steampressure Within the receptacle to prevent air entering.

In each case after a preliminary closure has 'i been` effected by driving in the plug or plugs,

as above described, the inal seal is applied,

' as before described. may be provided with two bushes, sucht as in 1 I claim:- 1. The herein-described means of eiecting n a preliminary hermetic closure of tins or other receptacles, consisting essentially of a bush or bung seated; in the top or cover of the receptacle and having one or more straight through-passages and one or more branch passages each leading into a straight passage, and of one or more plugs each fitted into a straight through-passage and adapted to be driven therein so' as to close the communication through the' corresponding branch passage with the vessel, substantially as described,

2'. The combina-tion with the herein described means of eecting a preliminary'hermetic closure of tins or other receptacles,c0n sis-ting of a bushI or bung seated' in the topor cover oi' the vessel' and having one or more straight through-passages and one or more branch passages each leading into aV straight through-passageI and one or more plugs each driven in to close the corresponding branch passage as described', of a layer of impermeable material, such as pa-rain-wa);v or melted solder, appliedE upon and covering the bush,

as described.

JOHN R. CROFT. Witnesses:

WM. T. CLARK, T. W. KENNARD. 

